"She lives far away. If it's more convenient, we'll bite the bullet and do it for her."
"Okay, I'm going back. Oh, one more thing." He turned around. "My wife said you guys collect eggs. Are you doing business?"
Zhou smiled and said, "Yes, I have a small business. If I keep spending money like this and don't have any income, life will be difficult in the future."
"You're right. We have about 50 eggs at home. Let your daughter-in-law go get them when the time comes."
"Thank you, take care."
"Why thank you so much? You paid for the things, so I should thank you. If my niece needs anything in the future, please come to me. I'll be leaving now."
After seeing Yan Laowu off, I saw a few children coming back with cows.
"Sister-in-law, have you decided on the children's schooling for the new year? The school enrollment date is almost here."
"It's settled. Send Xiaoqi there." Tian sighed with some emotion. "Shuwen is sensible. He said he won't go. He'll just learn to read and do some accounting with you, little sister. He said he can help out if the family business grows in the future."
"All of our children are good kids. Don't worry, sister-in-law. Shuwen will definitely become a great person in the future."
Tian smiled with relief and said, "This is the best thing now. I never thought that there would be a day when I could send my children to school. This is all thanks to you." After she finished speaking, the gratitude in her eyes was beyond words.
Chun Xiao patted her hands. "You thank me, and I want to thank you too. Without your support, I wouldn't be able to accomplish anything even if I had an idea. It's because of you family members that we can accomplish this together. As long as our family is united, our lives will definitely get better and better in the future."
"That's right."
"So from now on, as a family, we should stop thanking each other. It makes things seem awkward."
Yan Bingfa and Dahe returned just as it was getting dark. "We have to go again tomorrow morning. We collected a lot of things today and haven't finished them yet."
"Brother, are you and Shuwen going to set off early today?" Daha asked.
"We need to leave early and go to the town to find a bus to the county seat. I don't know how many days we'll have to stay there."
"Then you all should go back early. Sister-in-law still needs to help brother and Shuwen pack their luggage. Put these things in the kitchen first and come back to check and pack them tomorrow." Chunxiao urged. Now, going to the county town is the top priority.
Everyone knew the importance of the matter and went back without saying much.
Chunxiao and Zhou sorted things out for fear that the meat and large intestines would mix their smells if left together for too long. Now they have eight buckets at home, making it convenient to store anything.
"The chickens at your sister-in-law Guiping's place are already hatching, but there are so many that they might take a while to hatch. I'll give them to us at three cents each. The winnowing basket at the bamboo craftsman's place is almost ready too. I'll pick it up in a few days."
"Just right, we can all catch up, the arrangement is just perfect."
"When are you going to fertilize your backyard?" Zhou had heard her talking about the land these past two days and thought it was about time.
"It'll be just two days. Tomorrow morning we'll burn the charcoal, and in the afternoon we'll let the oxen try their hand at the sled. We'll apply base fertilizer and let it sit for two days before we start sowing."
"Sowing seeds so early?" Zhou was a little surprised. "Sowing seeds should be done at the end of February, and it's only mid-January now. If the weather isn't warm, the seeds won't germinate."
"I want to start growing seedlings soon, and then maybe use some winnowing baskets and mixed vegetables to make it work. I have to give it a try."
There was no charcoal burning today, so there was no need to stay up late. The mother and daughter talked for a while and then went to sleep.
The next morning, when the family arrived, Zhou was already awake, and Chunxiao had just gotten up. Yan Dashan had already left for town with Shuwen, and Yan Bingfa and Yan Dahe had also left.
When Tian and Zhang arrived, Zhou took them to the river to teach them how to clean their large intestines. Chunxiao started to light charcoal in the back.
Shufeng and Shuduo were at home looking after the house, so Zhou asked the youngest child, Pan'er, to bring a stool and sit at the gate of the yard to guard the gate.
By the time Chunxiao's charcoal was burned out, Yan Bingfa and Dashan had already returned.
We took a lot of things yesterday and today, including 5 pairs of pig intestines, more than 30 hooves, more than 20 ears, and more than 10 tails.
"Why did you collect so much?"
"I went to several places yesterday. It will be convenient from now on. I have told the butcher that when you slaughter pigs next time, leave all these things with him and send them to him. Three sets a day. If there is no head, we can add an extra set of intestines or a pair of pig's trotters. Anyway, we can make up the weight."
"Dad told them it would be best to share our intestines, but they didn't fully agree, saying we can do whatever we want." Yan Dahe laughed at the side. "I heard from Mom that you are going to use cattle to apply base fertilizer this afternoon. Let me know when you are going, and I will see how it will be done."
"Please bring the bucket of fertilizer from home. We'll need it this afternoon."
"Mom went back and got it this morning."
Tian and Zhang were both helping to braise the meat in the utility room. Since they had to cook lunch, they only used one pot. Chunxiao taught them how to add the right amounts of ingredients. It was actually quite simple once you got used to it, and it took some practice to figure it out. Tian and Zhang listened attentively.
After lunch, Yan Dahe and Yan Bingfa went outside the yard to learn how to drive an ox cart. At first, no matter how hard they tried, the ox wouldn't move. The well diggers in the distance laughed and said, "That's not how you drive an ox." A skilled ox driver took advantage of his free time to teach them some tricks. Gradually, they got the hang of it.
"It looks easy to herd cattle, but it turns out there are some tricks to it." Yan Dahe wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Of course, there's a trick to everything." Yan Bingfa also started sweating.
Chunxiao was eager to try it out.
"Don't get involved for now. We'll teach you when we're more proficient. Be careful not to fall."
Chunxiao had no choice but to give up.
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